Iranian Americans Voice Support for Nuclear Diplomacy

Iranian-Americans - “After years of staying aloof from public debate, Iranian Americans are emerging as an unexpected and articulate constituency for U.S. diplomatic engagement with the ayatollahs,” reports Pamela Constable for The Washington Post.

--“Yes, we suffered, but that was a long time ago,” said Amy Zarafshar, who fled her home in Iran for the U.S. after the 1979 revolution. “Now it is the people of Iran who are suffering, and this agreement could start opening things up for them.”

--Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, applauded the Iranian American community’s support of negotiations. “If the Iranian American community was dead set against negotiations, it would be hard for Obama to make the case.” Full story here: http://wapo.st/1cS1ruT

Preventing proliferation - Worries about an Iran deal leading to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East are unfounded, argues Kingston Reif in Arms Control Now. “It is the failure to secure a comprehensive deal to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran that would strike a much larger blow to the global nonproliferation regime,” Reif writes. http://bit.ly/1HyCSxJ

Scotland debates Trident - Britain’s House of Commons is set to discuss allegations made by a British sailor of safety and security lapses on Britain’s Trident nuclear missile submarines, according to The Guardian. Royal Navy sailor William McNeilly is currently in police custody after releasing a report to Wikileaks on poor conditions aboard the submarines, including the purported use of the ship’s missile compartment as a gym.

--The U.K.’s nuclear submarines are based in Scotland, and the Scottish National Party (SNP), Scotland’s dominant party, has been opposed to their presence. “The debate next Thursday allows us to address the very serious allegations made by Able Seaman William McNeilly and prevent them from being swept under the carpet by the Ministry of Defence,”said one Scottish MP. http://bit.ly/1FDeuLP

--See Also: “England’s Submarines Are One Step from Nuclear Disaster,” by Michael Peck for The National Interest. http://bit.ly/1FDeuLP

NPT - Concerns about proliferation and stalled disarmament efforts by nuclear weapons states “are leading to renewed expressions of support for the NPT, and for finding new ways to strengthen the 45-year-old “bargain” on nonproliferation, disarmament, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” reports Howard LaFranchi for The Christian Science Monitor.

--While the NPT review conference has seen tension between nuclear powers and non-nuclear states, the recent Iran framework agreement underscores the treaty’s effectiveness, LaFranchi notes. Full story here: http://bit.ly/1AoY8Gj

Tweet - @GaukharM: #NPT2015 draft final doc is up online via the amazing @RCW_ [pdf] http://bit.ly/1HzeA9N

P5+1- While the members of the P5+1 all share the same goal of preventing a nuclear armed Iran, they come to the negotiating table with different agendas, Ariane Tabatabai writes for The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

--“They are not a unitary actor… The outcome of the talks will depend on the group’s internal dynamics.” Tabatabai examines their agendas in detail here: http://bit.ly/1FI7tvo

Mideast nuclear ban - Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman is currently in Israel to discuss prospects for a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East, reports Louis Charbonneau for Reuters.

--The failure to convene a 2012 conference for the zone, along with gridlock on the issue at this month’s NPT review conference has led the U.S. to try to find a compromise. Ambiguity over Israel’s nuclear weapons status has been a sticking point in negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. http://reut.rs/1FsNyx3

Infrastructure over ICBMs - Costly, unnecessary nuclear weapons programs are diverting resources that would be better spent on America’s crumbling infrastructure, writes Ploughshares Fund Hale Fellow Will Saetran for The Hill.

--“Making a withdrawal from the trillion dollar nuclear piggybank to improve our infrastructure would not only contribute to the security of the nuclear enterprise, it would make the country stronger as a whole,” he writes. Full story here: http://bit.ly/1c9qU2h

Tweet - @CQnow: Senators, Following Obama's Lead, Continue Reduced Spending to Secure Nuclear Material $ http://cqnow.co/1PAveKt

Quick Hits:

--“Russia Deployed Nuclear Capable Gear, NATO Commander Says,” by Ian Wishart for Bloomberg News.http://bloom.bg/1PAOW8J

--“Now Is the Time to Eliminate All Nuclear Weapons,” by Marek Marczynski and Beatrice Fihn for The Guardian. http://bit.ly/1FIclR5

Events:

--P5+1 and Iran continue negotiations on an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. May 20, Vienna.

--”Europe and the Iran Nuclear Deal,” with French Ambassador Gerard Aud, British Ambassador Peter Westmacott, and German Ambassador Peter Wittig at the Atlantic Council. May 26th at 10:00am. http://bit.ly/1Hq0wPI

--"Sea Based Strategic Deterrence--Maintaining a Credible Force at a Responsible Cost," remarks by Rear Adm Joseph Tofalo, Director, Undersea Warfare Division, at the Huessy Congressional Breakfast Seminar Series. May 29 from 8:00-9:00am at the Capitol Hill Club. http://conta.cc/1FfEoXT

Dessert:

North Korea’s brat pack - While Kim Jong-Un conducts photoshopped nuclear missiles tests, his older brother Kim Jong-chol was spotted at an Eric Clapton concert in London, Julian Ryall reports for The Telegraph.

--“Mr Kim, 33, was passed over by his father, Kim Jong-il, as heir to the North Korean regime because he has a weak character, according to South Korean intelligence reports. To compensate, he has taken on the mantle of the unofficial leader of the North's "brat pack" of children of the regime's elite.” http://bit.ly/1AjhsVP